Carly Dow Brings New Record To Moncton On Wednesday

Having recently launched her debut solo effort, Ingrained, in her hometown of Winnipeg, folk musician Carly Dow is set to bring her music to the masses.

Performing her lone New Brunswick show on Wednesday May 27 at Plan b Lounge in Moncton, the early May release show for Ingrained surprised the charismatic musician in the best of ways.

“I was rather taken back by how well the album release show was attended,” she meekly says.

Acknowledging that she didn’t quite know what to expect from the show, she also admits that she didn’t have a lot of time to worry about how the show would go over or how her new album would be received in the time leading up to the performance.

“I wasn’t really feeling much in the way of apprehension about finally having the record released; I am proud of this album. I’ve just been so inundated with the promotional work and making sure everything is lined up that I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to necessarily worry about anything.”

Despite Ingrained being her first solo release, Dow is not a stranger to the world of music. She was a grade nine student when she discovered her father’s classical guitar in the basement of their home. The discovery sparked an interest from which Dow never looked back.

“I always considered myself rather introverted, and tended to indulge myself in poetry. Moving into performing music was a big leap for me, but combining these two passions certainly made sense once I got into the swing of things. I never would have seen myself as a performing songwriter but music just totally swept me away,” Dow says.

In the early part of this decade, Dow released two records as a part of acclaimed folk trio Bog River. The group had amassed a respectable fan base in their time together, but wer eventually pulled apart by life changes. Dow knew that she was not done with music, however.

“I’ve always played solo in the past, but actually making a solo record marks an exciting new chapter in my career,” she says. “For a lot of people, recording can very much be a cost issue. Luckily though, I knew I would be going down this path at one point or another, and so I began saving money long ago.”

Given the conveniences that modern technology has afforded both professional and amateur musicians, allowing them to record their music virtually anywhere, Dow adhered to the “go big or go home” mentality for Ingrained.

“Making a record was one of those things that I didn’t want to skimp on. I wanted to do it right, and not be one of those people that is sitting on their record for a few years before it finally gets released.”

Dow split the making of Ingrained into two different sessions. The basic bed tracks of the album were recorded at a Winnipeg-area studio, while her vocals were recorded in what many would consider to be a non-traditional location.

“My vocals were recorded in the visitor centre at Riding Mountain National Park. It is a gorgeous log-built structure that, aside from the wildlife taxidermy on the walls, had the perfect, natural acoustics for recording vocals. I love the sounds that you are able to get out of spaces like that.”